• Corporate chains reinvent themselves every 10 years or so, often seeking new outlets and new formats.
  
  
  • There are more than 380 empty Wal-Marts in the U.S.
    
    
• It is reported that stores in the downtowns and mid sections of towns will be affected the most since they will lose traffic to the outskirts.
  
  
• A superstore can generate as many as 20,000 car trips a day
  
  
• Big Box retail is offset by the job and tax losses of existing retailers, producing only marginal overall improvement or even a net decline in some cases.
  
  
• According to Better Models for Superstores, big boxes hire less employees per sq. ft. than smaller businesses.
  
  

• Local ownership benefits the whole community – profits circulate through the community reaching the bank, accountant, insurer, media, contractor, printer and many more.
  
  
• Community decisions are made by local decision-makers.
  
  

• Main streets offer economic, aesthetic and cultural benefits – they are gathering places for parades, festivals and history.
  
  
• Sprawl and big box development make cities look like clones of one another, robbing communities of individuality and local pride.
  
  

On January 15, 2003 more than 400 people attended a public meeting to become informed and involved in the Westside Neighborhood planning process. Residents were given the chance to "vote" on images they like best (green dot) and like least (red dot).

Residents made their preferences known loud and clear with their green and red dot votes:

• Project Scope: According to Paris Rutherford with RTKL, the consulting firm hired to execute the Westside planning process, "residents wanted the westside to have a strong local focus. The general theme is smaller is better and less intense development."
• Retail Type: Red dots overwhelmingly indicated that residents did not want large-scale, big box, single-tenant development. The majority of the green dots were placed on "specialty retail."
• Development Type: Residents clearly said "no" to "traditional" development practices and preferred "Neotraditional" development. Tradititional development practices are those that use sprawling design in both retail and housing land use.
• Streetscapes: Residents said they preferred a "Village" streetscape look and said no to "urban/informal" design.
• Civic Spaces: Residents indicated they preferred "Small scale plaza" design and no to "Large scale formal" spaces.
• Single Family Housing: Residents preferred "Neotraditional and hybrid" design.
• Office: A preference for "smaller scale office buildings that were integrated into the community" was indicated.
• *Multi-Family Housing: Residents indicated a preference for "Hybrid" style.

• There have been/are discussions for up to 2.5 million square feet of retail space slated for the West side of Sun Prairie, including Copps along Highway 19, 390,000 square feet of commercial (retail, office and community use) space in Smith's Crossing, 72,000 square feet in the Providence Project, the Woodman's site, and a 300,000 square foot shopping center next to Woodman's. This is roughly equal the size of East Towne Mall.
  
  
• There is currently no limit on the size of retail development, other than requiring retail facilities of 25,000 square feet or more to obtain a city conditional use permit. Thus, decisions are made on a case-by-case basis.
  
  

• The city council has made agreements to help the city control and plan growth. However, it appears pressure being put on the city could jeopardize these agreements. Council agreements related to the West side include:
  
  
  • At a council retreat a few years ago, the council responded unanimously to this question: What do you want Sun Prairie to be like in the future? - and the answer was "not Madison."
    
    
  • The Master Plan 2020 was adopted on 10/10/2000.
    
    
  • The council approved executing a specific land use study for the West side. RTKL has been hired to conduct the study.
    
    
    • The land use plan will recommend the types and densities of develpment.
      
      
    • The plan deadline is April 2003 with a final plan for the Planning Commission review in June 2003.
      
      
    • The plan will include an opportunity for public input at different stages.
      
      
  • The council "reaffirmed its support" of the Master Plan 2020 at a Committee of the Whole meeting on 6/26/2002.